2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Heiby
A surname of German origin referring to one from the town of Heide.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Heiby. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heiby surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Heiby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiby, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heiby
The surname HEIBY is of Norwegian origin, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the Hedmark region of eastern Norway, where it was likely derived from a farm or place name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the HEIBY surname can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian documents and charters. In this collection, there is a reference to a man named Halvor Heiby, who lived in the late 16th century.
The name HEIBY may have its roots in the Old Norse language, with possible connections to words like "hei" (meaning "heath" or "moorland") and "by" (meaning "village" or "settlement"). This suggests that the name could have originally referred to someone who lived in a village or settlement near a heathland area.
In the 17th century, the HEIBY surname appeared in church records from the Østfold county in southeastern Norway. One notable individual from this time period was Nils Heiby (1625-1692), a farmer and landowner in the Rakkestad parish.
As the centuries progressed, the HEIBY name spread to other parts of Norway and beyond. In the 19th century, a man named Torbjørn Heiby (1812-1878) was born in the Oppland county of Norway. He later emigrated to the United States, settling in Minnesota, where he became a prominent figure in the Norwegian-American community.
Another individual of note was Ingrid Heiby (1867-1942), a Norwegian writer and feminist activist. She was a pioneer in the women's rights movement in Norway and published several works of fiction and non-fiction during her lifetime.
In more recent history, the HEIBY surname has been carried by individuals like Sven Heiby (1923-2003), a Norwegian economist and politician who served as the Minister of Finance in the 1970s, and Arne Heiby (born 1937), a Norwegian architect known for his work on churches and other religious buildings.
While the HEIBY name may have started as a localized surname in eastern Norway, it has since become more widely distributed, with bearers of the name found in various parts of the world, particularly in countries with significant Norwegian immigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heiby
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiby, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Heiby bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Heiby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 101
- Two or more races3.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heiby
Heiby appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-5 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,310 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,858 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 14,310 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 1,858 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Heiby surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #148,347 | #150,205 | -1.3% |
| Count | 111 | 109 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heiby bearers went from 111 to 109 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 1,858 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #150,205.
FAQ
Heiby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heiby?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Heiby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Heiby?
Heiby ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 109 people with the surname Heiby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Heiby.
Has Heiby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heiby went from 111 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Heiby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiby, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Heiby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heiby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Heiby (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Heiby mean?
A surname of German origin referring to one from the town of Heide. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Heiby (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Heiby?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Heiby on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.